


salt-rose (or topaz)

by daleked



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Future Fic, I have No Excuse, M/M, Pining, fluff at the end, seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-31
Updated: 2012-08-31
Packaged: 2017-11-13 06:11:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/500354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daleked/pseuds/daleked
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek is leaving. Set two years in the future after season 2.</p><p>"He realises that leaving is just that: leaving. There isn't a prettier way of putting it."</p>
            </blockquote>





	salt-rose (or topaz)

**Author's Note:**

> Written to overcome my writer's block for the other story. This is indulgent and clichéd. Still, no regrets. Title from a Pablo Neruda sonnet. Seriously, his poems are brought up so often in this fandom. I just followed suit.
> 
> Also, I completely forgot about Jackson and Lydia. Sorry.

It's never been easy. He remembers when the days were longer, and now they speed past like trees outside a car. He spends them with the pack and the days get shorter.

He realises that leaving is just that: leaving. There isn't a prettier way of putting it, no way of telling Isaac that won't make him dart between the trees, away from him and the betrayal. No way to tell Erica that will make her not glare at him and turn away, shoulders stiff with the slightest tremble. Boyd would make a good alpha, though.

So he tells Stiles first. Alone, in his room.

It's been two years, and the kid listens well when he isn't spouting nonsense. In the two years, they've formed a grudging respect that faded into genuine camaraderie. Stiles bites his lips while listening.

"It's a great opportunity that you've been invited to the first Hunter-Werewolf peace talks as the representative for California," Stiles says, and pretends not to understand when Derek tries to explain that he's been asked to stay on in Washington and that Boyd will be taking over as the alpha here. Stiles looks at him like he's crazy, and says "but seriously, now, when will you be back?"

It's hard to believe he's in love with him, sometimes.

Derek keeps this thought buried deep inside his head, a small polished stone he wraps on soft memories and curls around in his heart. His wolf howls and he knows he'll miss the forest, the restored family home and his pack. Stiles' room smells like himself and Stiles, like something that could be, as well as something that Derek can never have.

He leaves as soon as possible.

He won't be an omega out there, not exactly. More like a lone alpha. A lone alpha amongst other lone alphas. He announces the news on a moonless night, unable to feel the Great Mother singing through his blood and calling for him to go free. Derek doesn't mention that he hasn't actually replied to organisers confirming that he will stay on in Washington. He just tells them that there will be a high chance that he will stay on as a representative, and that he wants to start a family pack somewhere new, anyway.

Isaac runs out of the door the moment he finishes, and they hear his feet crunching the leaves as he heads deeper into the forest.

Is it selfish, then? They're Isaac's family now. He can feel what Erica is thinking, her thoughts racing over his rib cage and battering at his skull. Selfish, she calls him. Running away, she calls it. What will we do without you? He can't feel Isaac, but Boyd lowers his head and Derek can sense the hope radiating off him, and says that Boyd will be taking over as alpha. Uncle Peter applauds from the corner and pulls the string of a party popper. He's the only one celebrating. Stiles is present, but he looks away when Derek tries to catch his eye. He looks at Allison, who is nodding sagely as Scott blurts out question after question.

Uncle Peter pulls him aside and speaks gently after everyone leaves. His words are soft, with a lot of "do you really want this" and "we will always be here, you can come back" phrases like these scattered in the conversation. Derek cuts it short brusquely and goes upstairs. He doesn't want to hear smooth, honey-tongued coaxing. Derek pulls out the invitation and brochure to reread them. After the Gerard Argent incident and the pack of Alpha werewolves, the Argents sent out missives to hunters and wolves to band together against the breaking of codes. A total of fifty two packs responded, agreeing to peace talks. The thirty Hunter clans sent recommendations but nothing was decided upon until Scott had asked Chris Argent to 'do it like Comic-con', at Stiles' suggestion.

Derek allows a smile to slip past his lips, and puts the documents back.

+

"You're dumb, you know," comes Stiles' voice at six in the morning, and Derek jumps. He wasn't expecting anyone, wasn't paying attention to sounds or heartbeats or anything. Stiles stands in front of him and Derek gets up off the bed. He can hear Stiles' heartbeat quickening and folds his arms in front of his bare chest.

"You were saying?" Stiles gestures.

"I don't understand. You. You can come back. You should come back. This is your family now. Yeah, go and be a diplomat, sure, whatever, but why don't you want to come back? This is your pack."

"I'm at the age where a wolf usually leaves his pack to start a family and a pack of his own. In fact, this is a little late. I should have done this years ago. I did start a pack, but breeding instincts..." Derek's words dry up at the sight of Stiles' expression.

"You're leaving to get tail?" Stiles says incredulously, and shakes his head. Derek ignores the dog joke reference and  forges ahead.

"Anyway, time for this pack to grow up." Stiles just presses his lips together in a thin line of disapproval, says "mmm mmm" and turns to leave.

Derek lets him. He's leaving in a week anyway.

+

Isaac brings soap as a parting gift and looks lost, almost heartbroken. Derek loads his suitcase into the back of his car and Uncle Peter helps check off the list.

"Okay, almost everything... How about your heart?" He inquires, smiling and tucking the pen behind his ear. Derek snarls and Uncle Peter mimes zipping his mouth shut and throwing away the key. 

"Here," Erica says, and dumps a kitten in his arms. "I was going to give it to you in a month's time, but it's old enough and you'll be gone." The kitten meows at Derek and he puts it in an empty cardboard box in the front seat. Note to self: kitty litter. Also, who the hell thinks that it's a good idea to give someone an animal as a going-away present? When he gets back, he's going to knock common sense into-

Oh. Right.

Allison gives him a couple of wolfsbane bullets just in case, as well as a taser. She hugs him. Scott thrusts a thermos flask of his mom's homemade chicken soup at him and looks away. Boyd politely doesn't ask when Derek looks around, and instead, passes him a packet of six socks.

Stiles is nowhere to be seen.

Derek bids everyone goodbye and prepares to get into his car, when the roar of Stiles' ancient jeep plowing into a tree stump distracts everyone. Stiles gets out with a running jump and tackles Derek. The both of them sprawl to the ground and Stiles hoists himself up, looks at Derek very seriously, and kisses him.

Then stops kissing him.

"Look," Stiles says uncomfortably. "Don't go. You're my friend, and it's taken me some time but I don't want you to go. Not really, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Derek asks.

"If you go, I can use it as an excuse. I can turn out to be the sad drunk at the gay bar, talking about how I didn't tell the guy I liked that I liked him before he left. That I regret it every day. That's dumb. So I'm telling you now, I like you, so will you stay?" Derek barks out harsh laughter and pushes Stiles off him, getting his feet. Stiles follows suit.

"What does liking me have to do with whether or not I'll come back?"

"If you come back, I could be your mate."

"Who ever said I wanted you to?" Stiles makes a noise that Derek recognises. It's the struggle to correctly say what he means.

Derek has made that noise many times in front of mirrors, while practicing talking about his emotions like everyone encourages him to.

"I want to be. You said you wanted a mate, so, ergo, me. I called them, do you know that? They said you haven't confirmed that you want to stay in DC through formal channels and all. They said they were waiting for your reply. So I'm telling you. Come back. This isn't me trying to make you stay. Okay, it is, but. You just listen. You listen and I talk and you shut me up before I go too far, and somewhere along the line it became not enough, okay? Like there's something missing. Like I want to kiss your sour wolf face and share churros with you, and possibly even hold hands with you in front of my dad even though he has a gun. What... What are you doing?" Derek passes the kitten in its box to Uncle Peter, and unloads one small bag from his car.

"I'm holding you to every single word," Derek says. "Do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Stiles replies, and his grin splits his face.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to hear what you thought of this.


End file.
